GPI Tribute to Nelson Mandela

December 09, 2013

In recent days, people all over the world have been paying
tribute to one of our generation's greatest civil rights leaders
and freedom fighters, and rightly so.

Born on July 18, 1918 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was seen as a
brave, relentless anti-apartheid revolutionary and impassioned
philanthropist. Yet behind such strong labels, was a gentle and
kind soul that could not and would not be silenced in light of
injustice, oppression and racism. Few individuals in this century
or last have been able to unite people from all racial,
socio-economic, religious and ethnic backgrounds to fight together
against poverty, world hunger and violence to the degree that
Nelson Mandela has.

Mandela is leaving a huge void in a world that has
united often to combat poverty and injustice, but has still a long
way to go to end human suffering; his absence will be felt across
the globe.

Most of us are familiar with Mandela's narrative of
imprisonment, perseverance and rise to lead his people and a
nation. Living in Johannesburg and pursuing his degree, he joined
the ANC and became a founding member of its Youth League. Fighting
early on against a racist and oppressive South African government,
he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and in 1962,
was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the
government and sentenced to life imprisonment during the famous
Rivonia trial.

What followed were 27 long years in prison. His days were
initially spent breaking rocks into gravel until his reassignment
in January 1965 to work in a lime quarry. He was initially
forbidden from wearing sunglasses which caused permanent damage to
his eyesight due to the glare of the lime. Prison conditions were
harsh, newspapers were forbidden, and visits and phone calls were
allowed only once every six months. Smuggled news clippings landed
him in solitary confinement more than enough times.

However the global village around Mandela did not stand by idly,
and his popularity and significance grew throughout the years,
leading to increased international pressure and support, including
the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at
London's Wembley Stadium which further cemented his status as a
global hero and freedom fighter and condemned the plight of blacks
in South Africa. When P.W. Botha's National Party permitted colored
and Indian citizens to vote but excluded black Africans explicitly
from the system, violence escalated and the country was on the
verge of civil war. Mounting international pressure forced
multinational banks to stop investing in South Africa bringing its
economy to a halt. Years of increased economic and political
isolation forced the South African apartheid regime to reluctantly
loosen its stance on the ANC and Mandela, ultimately resulting in
the release of all ANC political prisoners and finally Mandela's
own release in 1990.

Immediately upon his release, he visited with international
leaders to build support for sanctions against the South African
apartheid government, ranging from French President François
Mitterand, Pope John Paul II in Vatican City, UK's Margaret
Thatcher and US President George H.W. Bush to Cuba's Fidel Castro
and Indonesia's President Suharto. Ultimately he started working
with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish
multiracial elections in 1994 when the previously banned ANC came
out victorious. Nelson Mandela was elected first black South
African in the very first fully representative democratic election
the country had ever seen.

Mandela's goal had always been tackling the legacy
of apartheid and institutionalized racism, as well as poverty and
inequality with the ultimate goal of national reconciliation during
the transition from apartheid minority rule to a multicultural
democracy going as far as offering protection and representation to
his former oppressors in "
the Rainbow Nation".

So it's no wonder that even after retiring from politics in
1999, Mandela dedicated his life to a variety of charitable causes
including his own Nelson Mandela Foundation, which continues to
focus on combating HIV/AIDS. His popularity and statue helped South
Africa win the rights to host the 2010 FIFA World cup - a feat that
would have been deemed impossible a few short years earlier. But as
Mandela said, "it always seems impossible until it's done".

Even though he won over 250 honors, medals and awards, including
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and the US Presidential Medal of
Freedom, he was still denounced as a terrorist by critics and
remained a controversial figure, so much so that the ANC was dubbed
a terrorist group and Nelson Mandela's name remained on the U.S.
terrorism watch list until 2008! Although the US State Department
blamed it on a snafu, it still caused the US government
embarrassment each and every time then Secretary of State
Condeleezza Rice had to issue waivers for ANC members, including
Nelson Mandela himself, to travel to the US.

Labeling himself an optimist, the world still marvels at the
lack of outwardly anger, bitterness and resentment over the pain
and suffering he and his people endured. He went on to fulfill his
destiny and lead his life, his people and a nation with grace and
dignity, and a spirit of generosity - inspiring millions of people
around the globe to judge less and hate less, and instead do more,
be more and love more. We should all follow in his footsteps.

There are so many memorable quotes Nelson Mandela has left us
with but this one exemplifies what unites us all in our
humanity:

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of
his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to
hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love,
for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its
opposite."

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project, please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at info@globalizationpartners.com,
or by phone at (866) 272-5874, or by requesting a free web translation
quote for your next website translation project.

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Fotini Limes - Director, Global AccountsFluent in German, Greek, French and Italian (as well as
English), Fotini has over 15 years of localization industry
experience serving in a multitude of operational and sales roles.
She has extensive experience in document, software, website and
multimedia localization and manages day-to-day global production
for GPI's project management and translation teams. She has lived
and worked in Germany, Greece, France and the USA.